From The Sunshine Isles to the Diaspora: We intend to present a kaleidoscope of sunny perspectives and opinions on the critical issues that affect us today and those that will impact us tomorrow.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

ALP’s Legal Shenanigans!

By Sojourner

Today I listened to the ALP’s lawyer speaking to the issue of the writs that they (ALP) had filed in with respect to the recently concluded elections. They filed the writs contesting the results in four constituencies: St. Georges, St. Johns Rural West, St. Johns Rural North and Barbuda.

This ALP lawyer apparently wanted to objective, and he may actually fool himself in believing that he had succeeded. But what he may not know is that he is reeking of the stench that follows the “ALP-ites”.

I am no lawyer, but I have common sense. It is almost an understatement to say that the recently concluded elections were a disaster. What happened should not have. The list should have been posted early, the photo list should have been ready days prior to Election Day, the photocopier should not have broken down, the polling stations should have opened on time, and voting should have started on time. But in a lot of cases these did not happen, so the question remains… who benefitted more from these inconsistencies? ALP? UPP?

This ALP lawyer seems to be suggesting that the ALP suffered more than the UPP as a result. He and his ALP friends seem to believe that if the list was ready and the polling stations opened on time that the ALP would have won. Now, to make such an assertion (implied as it is) this lawyer and his ALP friends must have information that the rest of us do not have.

I believe that they have information about the list… In fact I think that they helped to concoct a list with help from officials at the Immigration Department and the Electoral Office (Birdites in high positions).

I am making this comment based on comments that I’ve heard from comrades such the political leader of the ALP. He said that he registered over 600 persons in St. Johns City East.

In addition to this there are discrepancies in voter lists in that constituency. So obviously, there is something funny going on there. The ALP lawyer and his team of lawyers acting on behalf of the ALP need to add this seat, St. Johns City East to the list of constituencies named in the writ.

This lawyer and his ALP friends seem to be grabbing at straws, just as a drowning man does. They will soon discover, albeit too late, that straws cannot hold them up.

They are about the only ones that see logic in their arguments. They are adamant that the late start hurt them to the extent that if the polling stations were opened on time, they (ALP) would have been returned to power.

But this is not what the OAS Observer Mission concluded. They are of the view that the late start had no significant impact on the results. And I agree. According to laws of mathematics and chance, all things being equal, the impact of the lateness would be equally dispersed, affecting the UPP as much as it affected the ALP, and the other candidates. So Honourable Counsel, that is a mute point! A no brainer!

The lawyer, on behalf of his ALP friends, also made other allegations with respect to the conduct of candidates at the Polling stations. One of his issues is that at a St. Johns Rural West polling station, the UPP leader was handing out brown paper bag… he said with documents.

But when the ALP first raised this point, they mentioned that the UPP operatives were handing out food in brown paper bags. I found it strange, when they were making an issue of it, since on Election Day, the UPP made similar allegations against ALP at a St. Johns Rural North.

A reporter confronted two ALP big shots… two candidates both of whom gave very different stories to the reporter. One admitted that there was food, but that he had nothing to do with it. According to him their agents organized their own food giving activity… The other one denied the allegations, and said that it was the UPP who was doing this. All of this happened in a time of about 5 minutes and to the same reporter!

The ALP lawyer also spoke of the UPP candidate for Rural West, who he claimed was hugging up persons in the line. This lawyer is suggesting that something was wrong with this. And I agree with him. But he should have also ensured that his ALP friends, who were candidates in the elections, were armed with this knowledge when they went to the various polling stations.

I voted at St. Johns City South, and the incumbent… the one who thinks that all he needs to win is to be cute and whisper sweet nothings in the ears of the constituents, was hugging persons in full view… grinning his hypnotic smile. I saw him!

And while I am at it, that same incumbent, seemed to have forgotten to mention to his ALP comrade lawyer about the scene he made at the Mary E Pigott polling station at about counting time… and the bigger scene one of his sons made when he literally threw himself in the path of the bus, police aboard, that was taking the boxes to the counting station. Oh… and he (the incumbent) should have also mentioned how he threatened an officer.. “Wait, you’ll see what happens to you” … purportedly when they would have won!

The inclusion of Barbuda in the writ is laughable. Yes, Barbuda’s results were close..but this is nothing unusual… I remember that there was a tie for the 2004 elections… with the very same candidates. In a revote, Mr. Walker won by about 6 votes; So the fact there Mr. Walker won by 1 vote this time is nothing out of the ordinary.

Now I understand how desperate ALP is… but this is ridiculous… and to me the ALP’s lawyer and all his high powered crony lawyer colleagues lawyers look just as ridiculous. Face the truth… UPP won.

I think that the thing that is really bothering them is that despite, all the money, all the bribery, all the prostituting, all the slandering, all the monstrous the give-aways, the criminal shenanigans, the “mega concerts” and the millions and millions of dollars they poured into the campaign, they lost. They are out again. The UPP is in AGAIN.